Articles - Fall 2010 - return to index
 Steve Candee |
Faculty Spotlight: Steve Candee
Political science instructor helps students launch public and civic careers
By Chris Cunningham
Even as a boy, Steve Candee was captivated by current events. He remembers watching coverage of the 1960 Democratic convention at age 10. He regards the U.S. political system as a “living Constitution” built on the principle that “citizens are expected to vote and participate.”
Today he teaches political science at Lane Community College and is a political commentator for local radio and television. Steve helps his students discover exciting careers in politics, law or public service (see cover story).
Steve attended Lane before transferring to the University of Oregon. During his 25 years of teaching, he has constructed a learning environment for lively debate. His students discuss local topics and national issues. Frequent guest speakers represent divergent ideologies and present opposing views of campaign and legislative issues.
Steve is not afraid to express his own views in the classroom, and he wants students to do the same,“as long as they can support their viewpoints.”
Sometimes he plays devil’s advocate. “My role is not to validate what students believe, but to challenge it.”
As a Cooperative Education coordinator, Steve places students in internships with campaigns, law firms, legislative offices, and organizations such as the ACLU. These experiences further help students learn what it means to be engaged citizens.
• For information about the political
science program go online at
2011sitearchive.lanecc.edu/socsci or contact instructor
Steve Candee at (541) 463-5188 or candees@lanecc.edu.
• For information about Cooperative Education, go online at 2011sitearchive.lanecc.edu/cooped.
